In recent years, pickup trucks have grown dramatically in size. If you compare an average pickup truck from 2025 to one from the 1980s, for example, the newer vehicle will be much taller, wider and heavier.
This is creating a lot of safety hazards and problems on the road. In multi-vehicle accidents, these oversized pickup trucks are more likely to injure or kill occupants of other vehicles. There are also risks for pedestrians and cyclists, because these trucks tend to have massive blind spots.
Hidden hazards
The problem with these blind spots is that they can completely hide people who should be seen by the driver. For instance, a child walking through a crosswalk on their way to school could be entirely invisible to a driver sitting behind the wheel of a pickup truck. If that driver is waiting to make a right turn, for example, they may look for cross traffic and decide that it’s safe to turn. They won’t even know that there’s a child in front of the vehicle until they hit them.
This isn’t a fringe issue. It’s something that happens frequently. For instance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) looked at statistics from 2020 and found that there were more than 10,000 of these accidents resulting in injuries. Additionally, 500 people lost their lives in these “frontover” crashes.
Unfortunately, consumer trends don’t seem to be changing. Pickup trucks are just getting larger every year, increasing the danger for everyone around them on the road. If you have suffered injuries or lost a loved one in an accident caused by a negligent pickup truck driver, be sure you know exactly what legal options you have to seek financial compensation.